Chapter 492: Side Story 12 Baek Sang-ah’s Melancholy
A contract?
My eyes quickly swept over the woman who called herself Yeonggwi.
"Oh my, such a lecherous gaze, isn’t it?"
"You're not human."
"Isn’t it obvious?"
Yeonggwi chuckled and shrugged her shoulders.
There was one reason I could so firmly conclude she wasn’t human.
Human skin couldn’t possibly be that artificially gray.
I had heard of a black-skinned race called the Kunlun Slaves somewhere in the Central Plains, but the being before me gave off a completely different aura.
Above all, those heterochromatic eyes that blended black and gold.
From the moment I looked into those eyes, my rationality had been shaking.
I steadied my trembling mind and asked,
"What do you mean by a contract?"
"Just as it sounds. I don’t know why you, who bear the Duel Mark with Gunggi, came here with him, but..."
Yeonggwi’s eyes narrowed like crescent moons.
"'We' can help you deal with Gunggi."
"..."
"And while we’re at it, it'd be even better if you became my minion."
There’s no way she genuinely didn’t know the reason we came here.
She was offering a counter-proposal — to break the alliance with Gunggi and side with us.
But that was a separate matter.
‘I got played.’
I had fully believed Gunggi’s words and let down my guard. That was my mistake.
Who would have thought their domain extended even further?
"Judging from your expression, I suppose you were fooled by the visible boundary?"
"..."
"Not entirely wrong, but when all the Commanders gather, even this kind of thing is possible."
Snap!
With a light flick of Yeonggwi’s fingers, I began to see what they had done.
"The ground..."
To be exact, dense and massive lines were drawn beneath the earth.
"Right. There’s no need for a hemispherical barrier to detect enemies."
From afar, Yeonggwi lightly lifted the pure white line I was standing on.
"If you just lay them out subtly like a spiderweb, intruders get caught on their own."
The white line swept across my foot like a beam of light without any physical force.
If I had known, I should’ve brought along a sorcerer.
No, the result likely wouldn’t have changed anyway.
Their technique simply exceeded my imagination.
"By the way, you’ve got impressive mental strength, haven’t you?"
As I was trying to figure out how to respond, Yeonggwi slowly approached me.
"You haven’t reacted at all to my Soul-Tempting Soul Separation, you know?"
Judging by the name, it sounded like some cruel demonic art, but strangely, she exuded more divinity than wickedness.
"You don’t seem to have any resistance to sorcery... do you perhaps have a dearly beloved wife?"
Not a wife, but there is someone I adore.
Then, as she observed me, Yeonggwi suddenly frowned.
"No, that doesn’t seem right. There is a bond, sure, but it’s been flowing in only one direction for a long time, hasn’t it?"
One direction.
It hurt, but that could only mean...
"You dare resist my authority despite being in a one-sided love?"
"..."
Stunned by her words, I furrowed my brow.
"...You can see even that?"
"That’s what a Yeongsu does — seeing the unseen."
Before I knew it, greed began to glimmer in Yeonggwi’s eyes.
"I came here light-heartedly, but this is far more interesting than I expected. Eungnyong said to just tweak your memory and send you back, but I disagree. Letting go of such fun material?"
Yeonggwi approached and grabbed my chin.
"Sorry, but even if I have to force you, you’ll have to become mine."
Something immense and suppressive coiled around my entire body.
Though I didn’t realize it, that suppressive force was clearly a powerful form of sorcery.
"Hehehe..."
Her crimson lips moved in to meet mine.
Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t even be able to resist — my lips would have been taken.
But.
Thwack!
My hand, which should have been completely immobile, clamped over Yeonggwi’s mouth.
"...!"
"Get lost, you ugly thing."
There wasn’t even time to ask, "How?"
Squelch!
Before I knew it, the dagger in my other hand pierced straight through Yeonggwi’s heart!
Death surged into Yeonggwi’s heart.
"You... bastard!"
I could’ve ended it completely right then, but…
Before I realized it, someone appeared behind Yeonggwi and kicked me away.
Thud!
It was such a sudden and lightning-fast blow that I couldn’t react in time.
"...Eungnyong!"
The one who appeared to rescue Yeonggwi was none other than Eungnyong, who possessed a stature like that of an emperor.
Eungnyong sighed as he looked between me, who had been thrown back, and Yeonggwi, who was clutching her chest.
"So, you did it after all. I told you not to..."
"......"
"Unless the Phoenix has fully revived, we can't afford to make enemies with that man just yet. I’m sure I told you that."
Yeonggwi grimaced and pulled the dagger out of her heart.
"Ugh! I cannot understand this. Are you saying we must grovel like this just to avoid one human?!"
"I’m sure I explained it clearly. That human isn’t just anyone—he’s the one who completely erased Heavenly Evil. He’s essentially a god of the lower realm."
Eungnyong still didn’t know that Jin Yeomyung had lost the qualification to enter the Divine Territory.
Of course, had he known, his actions might have been bolder...
Even so, it wouldn’t have changed the core strategy.
Eungnyong let out a deeper sigh.
"If you could read Heavenly Qi, I wouldn’t need to explain all this... such a shame."
"Hmph, and yet you were the one who started ordering me around the moment I revived, weren’t you?"
"...Back then, it was the best decision. We couldn’t afford to waste even the slightest bit of power."
Yeonggwi had awakened after the passage of Heavenly Timing.
It was when her once-full power had begun to decline.
"So, what now?"
I had already steadied myself and was waiting for an opening.
Eungnyong looked at me for a moment, deep in thought.
‘This can still be salvaged.’
The being before me belonged to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult led by that man.
Even if we eliminate the remaining two here, as long as I let him return safely, I can still offer a hand of reconciliation.
Reading his thoughts, Yeonggwi thought to herself:
‘That won’t work…’
Eungnyong could read the balance of power, but he couldn’t grasp the importance of human bonds.
On the other hand, Yeonggwi couldn’t read the situation, but she had some sense of their bond.
From her perspective, if one was to be saved, both had to be saved. And if one was to be killed, both had to be killed.
But the one with the authority to decide now was none other than Eungnyong.
That difference produced an irreversible result.
Eungnyong turned and gave an order somewhere.
"Subdue that man alone and let him live. Qilin, kill the Murim Alliance Leader. Then we’ll join forces to eliminate Gunggi."
"That won’t do."
Who the hell are you saying you're going to kill?
"Baek Sojeo and I are going to live happily for over a hundred years together!"
Baek Sang-ah had never even considered such a thing, but I had already decided it in my heart.
Crack!
"...!"
Suddenly, a black energy burst forth from my entire body.
It wasn’t the usual dull killing intent I controlled.
It was clearly a destructive energy that forced all things to kneel!
"How… how do you possess his power?!"
There was no mistaking it.
That energy was undoubtedly the Heavenly Demonic Divine Art of Jin Yeomyung—etched deeply into my bones during the final battle!
"I didn’t expect to use this already... but I’ll protect Baek Sojeo no matter what!"
Crack! Crack-crack-crack!
Just from the aftermath of that power, the surrounding Illusion Formation collapsed.
Eungnyong clicked his tongue.
"It’s over."
Had they been at the center of the city where the Divine Art was deployed, they could have invoked spatial distortion. But with his current power, this was the limit.
Soon, the blurry surroundings collapsed.
Starlight and moonlight poured in, and not far away, I saw Baek Sang-ah locked in a confrontation with a woman surrounded by lightning.
"Baek Sojeo!"
"So Cheon!"
Baek Sang-ah’s face brightened as if she recognized my voice.
I rushed over to her.
"Are you alright?"
"We haven’t clashed for real yet. But..."
Her eyes didn’t leave the woman cloaked in blue lightning.
"If we’re not careful, we might end up buried here."
I could instinctively tell.
The woman with a horn on her forehead was no less powerful than Gunggi during our final battle!
"Qilin is the most powerful among the Commanders."
Before I realized it, Gunggi had approached us.
"You’ve managed to preserve your strength even after the passage of Heavenly Timing, I see."
"......"
"But that too is only temporary. You’re just holding your breath in deep, and eventually, you’ll deflate like a punctured balloon."
A sneer formed at the corner of Gunggi’s lips.
"Along with a hefty price, of course."
His comment about holding one’s breath fit the current situation perfectly.
If one forcibly stops breathing, eventually the body will begin to suffer—no matter the lifeform.
If that state continues, Qilin would eventually become the weakest among the Commanders.
Qilin stared directly at Gunggi.
"So, you’ve chosen to fall into mere humanity?"
"I’m not the type to cling foolishly like you lot."
Gunggi shrugged.
"Heavenly Timing will never come again. Rather than withering away like you, I’d rather burn brightly one last time and die."
"How absurd. You talk about burning brightly, yet you choose humanity? You think that makes sense!?"
"......"
Both my and Baek Sang-ah’s expressions darkened slightly upon hearing Qilin’s outburst.
Her words pierced right into the contradiction we had long sensed in Gunggi.
"Heavenly Timing will come again. We’ll make it happen."
"By throwing the world into endless chaos and slaughtering countless humans?"
Flinch.
Though Eungnyong and Yeonggwi managed to hide their expressions, Qilin’s face hardened fearfully—as if those words struck home.
"...Tch!"
Seeing her falter, Eungnyong clicked his tongue softly.
Gunggi mocked them all.
"Kukukuk! Planning to repeat the same deeds hidden in human history, are you?"
"......"
"But how? Your leader, Earth Sage, reincarnated as a human long ago. Now he’s practically your enemy. With both Heavenly Evil and Earth Sage gone from this world, how exactly do you plan to bring back Heavenly Timing?"
"There is… a way. It’ll just take a very long time."
Eungnyong spoke in a voice that suppressed his rage.
"Ah, yes. A way. I can more or less guess what it is. But..."
Gunggi gestured at me and Baek Sang-ah with his chin.
"These humans here already know your plans. Will you still be able to carry them out now?"
"......"
The three Divine Beasts remained silent.
The silence lasted a while—until Eungnyong finally spoke.
"It can’t be helped."
They had planned to stretch this out over at least several thousand years, but thanks to his capriciousness, they had fumbled right from the first step.
Even if he was technically their enemy, if the plan succeeded, Gunggi too would benefit from it.
"At this point, we have no choice but to kill you all."
"Oh really? And if we flee right now, do you think you can stop us?"
"We can stop you."
The moment he finished speaking—
Fwooooom!
Suddenly, horn blasts rang out from all directions.
And in sync with that sound, the faint pounding of hooves upon the earth began to echo in our ears.
"……!!"
"Seems we forgot to mention we’ve already taken control of the Imperial Court."
Eungnyong stared coldly at Gunggi and the two of us.
"A retreat route? We can just block it off physically."